1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a gas generator used in a restraining device for vehicles such as an airbag apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Some of gas generators for deploying an airbag have an elongated cylindrical housing because of their attachment position. In such gas generators, an igniter is attached to one end thereof and a gas discharge port is provided on the other end.
When the igniter is separated from the gas discharge port in this manner, a lead wire connected to the igniter does not become an obstacle at the time of attaching an airbag around the gas discharge port, which is advantageous because the attachment to a vehicle is facilitated.
However, with the igniter provided at one end, when ignition of a gas generating agent progresses from one end to the other end, the gas generating agent ignites easily in some positions whereas it does not easily ignite in some other positions.
In a gas generator 10 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,820, an igniter 20 is disposed in one end of an elongated housing 12, and a gas generating agent 30 is charged around the igniter 20.
A chamber in which the igniter 20 is disposed and the gas generating agent 30 is filled and a chamber 21 in which another gas generating agent 99 is filled are partitioned by a spacer 18 provided with a communication hole 19 in a central portion thereof. The communication hole 19 is closed by a seal 97.
Moreover, since the igniter 20 is disposed in such a state that an ignition portion protrudes into a combustion chamber, a pocket-like annular space is formed near an end closure 22 and the gas generating agent 30 is also present in the annular space.
FIG. 1 of JP-A No. 2011-157025 shows a gas generator that includes a first porous plate member 14 and a second porous plate member 32.